Christian Robinson (born August 2, 1986) is an American illustrator of

children's books A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

and an

animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video gam ...

. He is based in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

and has worked with The

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

Workshop and

Pixar Animation Studios Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...

. He graduated from the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

Personal life

Robinson grew up in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, raised by his grandmother in a one-bedroom home shared by six people. He began his career in animation until a mentor, Ben Butcher, inspired his shift toward children's books. He lived for seven years in San Francisco before relocating to Sacramento.

Awards

Robinson was awarded a

Coretta Scott King Coretta Scott King ( Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was married to Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his death. As an advocate for African-American equality, she w ...

Illustrator Honor and a

Caldecott Honor The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...

for '' Last Stop on Market Street''. The book also won the 2016

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

, for author

Matt de la Peña Matthew de la Peña is an American writer of children's books who specializes in novels for young adults. He won the Newbery Medal in 2016 for his book ''Last Stop on Market Street''. Biography A San Diego, California, native, Matt de la Peña re ...

who said of his process, "I know editors often want to keep writers and illustrators apart, but I feel this story really benefited from the fact that I knew Christian was going to be the illustrator. I printed out his piece with the boy on the bus with his grandma and had it next to me as I wrote the story. That piece set the tone, I think. I just followed it into the story." ''Last Stop on Market Street'' was also named to the Bank Street Children's Book Committee's Best Books of the Year List with an "Outstanding Merit" distinction. In 2021, he published, alongside

, ''Milo Imagines the World''. His "colorful collage" art helped the book become a 2022 Bank Street Children's Best Books of the Year List with an “Outstanding Merit” distinction and shared the Committee’s

Josette Frank Award The Josette Frank Award is an American children's literary award for fiction given annually by the Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College of Education. It "honors a book or books of outstanding literary merit in which children or young peo ...

with Angeline Boulley's

Firekeeper's Daughter ''Firekeeper's Daughter'' is a young adult (YA) novel by Angeline Boulley, published March 16, 2021, by Henry Holt and Co. The book is a ''New York Times'' best seller. The book follows Daunis Fontaine, a half-native, half-white young adult w ...

. Robinson provided "colorful bold line drawings" to Renée Watson's 2012 picture book ''Harlem's Little Blackbird'', which earned a spot on the 2013 Bank Street Children's Book Committee's Best Books of the Year List. He was the winner of the 2014 Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award for ''Rain!'' authored by Linda Ashman The book was also a 2014 Bank Street Children's Book Committee's Best Books of the Year and Robinson was noted for his "gentle paint and watercolor illustrations." He was also awarded the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor for ''Josephine'' in 2015. ''Gaston'' was selected in 2015 for an IRA Teachers' Choices Reading List award. and was also selected as a 2015 Notable Children's Book for younger readers by the Association for Library Service to Children. He was the illustrator for Mac Barnett's 2015 picture book, ''Leo: A Ghost Story''. His "moody blue illustrations" helped the book become a 2016 Bank Street Children's Book Committee's Best Books of the Year. Robinson provided "folk-art style paintings" for Margaret Wise Brown's reissued (2016) ''The Dead Bird'', which received an "Outstanding Merit" distinction on the 2017 Bank Street Children's Book Committee's Best Books of the Year List. He was the illustrator for Cynthia Rylant's 2016 picture book, ''Little Penguins'' which was also the 2017 Bank Street Children's Book Committee's Best Books of the Year List. In 2018, his "evocative mixed-media illustrations" appeared in Matt de la Peña's ''Carmela Full of Wishes'' which appeared on the 2019 Bank Street Children's Book Committee's Best Books of the Year List. He provided the "stylized paint and collage illustrations" for Julie Fogliano's 2019 ''Just in Case You Wanted to Fly'' which was a 2020 Bank Street Children's Book Committee's Best Books of the Year with an "Outstanding Merit" distinction. His 2019 picture book, ''Another'' was also a 2020 Bank Street Children's Book Committee's Best Books of the Year and also received an "Outstanding Merit" distinction.

Selected works

*''Harlem's Little Blackbird'' by Renée Watson (2012) *''Rain!'' by Linda Ashman (2013) *''Josephine'' by Patricia Hruby Powell (2013) *''Gaston'' by Kelly DiPucchio (2014) *''The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade'' by Justin Roberts (2014) *'' Last Stop on Market Street'' by

(2015) *''Leo: A Ghost Story'' by Mac Barnett (2015) *''The Dead Bird'' by Margaret Wise Brown reissued in (2016) *''School's First Day of School'' by Adam Rex (2016) *''Little Penguins'' by Cynthia Rylant (2016) *''Antoinette'' by Kelly DiPucchio (2017) *''When's My Birthday?'' by Julie Fogliano (2017) *''Carmela Full of Wishes'' by Matt de la Peña (2018) *''Another'' by Christian Robinson (2019) *''Just in Case You Want to Fly'' by Julie Fogliano (2019) * He illustrated the jacket for ''Sunny Day: A Celebration of the Sesame Street Theme Song'' (2019) * '' The Bench'' by

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is the wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III. Meghan was ...

(2021) * ''Milo Imagines the World'' by

(2021)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Christian American illustrators Living people California Institute of the Arts alumni Pixar people 1986 births 21st-century American male artists 21st-century African-American artists